The southern European longs market has seen mixed trends during the past week, with some decreases in ex-Greece export offers, but slight increases from Spain and Italy. The segment that continues to raise concerns is Italian rebar, where producers appear firm on their prices and are not allowing further reductions.
In this specific segment, despite continuous attempts to set prices at €300/mt ex-works base (€565/mt ex-works including regular extras), tradable prices seem to be stable in the range of €280-290/mt ex-works base (€545-555/mt ex-works including regular extras). Any attempts to raise prices have not materialized, and this indicates that producers are maintaining a defensive stance on prices rather than successfully pushing for increases. “The goal is not to go lower,” explained a source at an Italian producer, adding, “These are the minimum prices we accept. No more drops; we need to hold out until the closures at the end of the year.”
Furthermore, Italian producers are facing additional production challenges as winter approaches, with potential shutdowns due to high energy costs. There are rumors of further shutdowns for nearly all of December and these conditions underscore the cautious approach of Italian producers as they navigate both market pressures and rising operational costs.
Ex-Spain rebar offers have risen slightly, settling this week in the €570-580/mt FOB range, up from €570/mt FOB previously. A similar trend is seen in ex-Italy rebar offers, which have strengthened via sea routes, supported by good demand across the Mediterranean, bringing offers to €570-580/mt FOB (up from €560-570/mt FOB two weeks ago). Meanwhile, ex-Italy rebar offers by truck have been reported at stable levels of around €570-590/mt delivered across Europe.
Conversely, ex-Greece offers have declined this week. Ex-Greece rebar offers have dropped to around €590/mt FOB, and wire rod prices have decreased to €580/mt FOB, reflecting a decline of approximately €10/mt and €20/mt, respectively.
Further reductions have also been seen in import prices from Turkey, which is currently offering rebar for late November/December shipments at €575-585/mt CFR southern Europe and wire rod at €595/mt CFR, reflecting a drop of approximately $10/mt or €5-10/mt. Additionally, new offers have been reported from Algeria at around €580-585/mt CFR for both rebar and wire rod, while wire rod offers have also been reported from Egypt at around €560-570/mt CFR and from Asia at €525-535/mt CFR (considering an estimated shipping cost of $65/mt per 30,000 mt from Asia).